


Recovery

by MickMackNickNack



Category: The School for Good and Evil - Soman Chainani
Genre: Actual mates because I said so and I hc that demons have mates instead of spouses, Comfort/Angst, Demon Culture junk no one asked for, Gen, Loneliness, M/M, POV Multiple, Past Torture, Romantic Soulmates, Silence
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-08-31
Updated: 2019-08-31
Packaged: 2020-10-01 00:23:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,371
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20456027
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MickMackNickNack/pseuds/MickMackNickNack
Summary: Nicola meets Ravan for the first time.Or:The Snake separated Kiko and Ravan and tortured them more than anyone else because they were in romantic relationships with major characters in The Tale of Sophie and Agatha.As you might expect, things get angsty real fast.





	Recovery

**Author's Note:**

> A bit of an AU. Everyone gets a two-month-long rest before going off to fight the Snake. (Fuck you Japeth. FUCK YOU.)

Nicola hadn’t noticed the two people the others had rescued. One of them was Kiko, a character she recognized and thought was adorable. She was crying into her hands, burn marks covering her arms and neck. Next to her, wrapped in a black cloak, was someone Nicola had never seen before. He was gaunt and his lips were so chapped it would be a wonder if he could speak. Dot sat beside him, holding a glass of water she would occasionally hand to him so that he could drink. 

She looked over to Hort for an explanation. “That’s Ravan,” he said awkwardly. “He looks better normally, but the Snake was withholding food from him. Those two suffered the worst.” He winced as if it was somehow his fault. 

“Why?” Nicola asked, curious to know--what if it was somehow his fault? 

“Um. They were in romantic relationships with major characters,” he mumbled. 

“It isn’t your fault.” 

“It is! A bit!” 

“Just because Kiko--” 

“Not Kiko,” he snapped. “Ravan. I fell for him, and the Snake knew and he took the only person who had ever loved me for _ me _away.” He turned away. “I’m sorry. I didn’t think--” 

“It’s fine,” she sighed. Of course. Of course this had happened. Why had she thought he would ever really--she looked up to meet eyes so dark they looked black. Eyes older than hers by far. 

A chill ran up her spine. She recalled something she’d read, long ago, back in Gavaldon. _ The Demons of Thicket Tumble are born with the ability for their eyes to appear emotionless and much older than they are (Demons in combat will hold their opponent’s gaze directly the entire time), thus being incredibly threatening. Once they reach the age of fourteen, it only applies outside of intimate situations. _

_ Once they come of age, however, this will decrease to their actual age. Since Demons do not come of age until they are between twenty and thirty, this gives them the time to learn how to fight well and they no longer require this defence mechanism. _

“How old are you?” she asked him suddenly. 

“Sixteen,” was his hoarse reply. Not of age yet, so the defence was still in place. She wondered if Hort had seen his eyes unguarded, showing any emotion at all. Probably not. 

The Demon continued to stare at her in silence. It honestly made her uncomfortable; weren’t Demons talkative? 

“Why won’t you speak?” she asked. 

More silence and another piercing glance from those cold, guarded eyes. 

Wonderful. She stood and walked off towards Sophie and Agatha. “Hi,” she said. Agatha scooted over to make room. 

“How was your first meeting with demon-boy?” Sophie snickered, examining her nails. Nicola bristled. 

“He’s not much of a talker,” she snapped, pinning Sophie with a deadly glare. 

“Yes, he is,” Sophie said, looking up from her nails. “And where’s Hort?” 

Nicola looked over her shoulder at Hort, who was staring blankly at the opposite wall. Ravan made no move to interact with him. She turned back, ashamed at the hope rising in her stomach. Hoping for them to end so that she could have Hort? That was pure Evil. A, dare she say it, Sophie-like notion. 

“He’s not that chatty, Sophie,” Agatha chided. “But Kiko said something about Ravan being hit if he spoke, or she would get hit. That was all we got out of her before she started crying again.” Agatha swallowed, looking pained. “I think Hort and Dot think it’s their fault--had they just stayed away, none of this would have happened. They wouldn’t have been separated and tortured worse.” she turned to Nicola, large brown eyes watery. 

“Three _ months, _ Nicola. That’s how long he went without any food at all. None. Not even _ water. _ The Snake wanted to see how long a Demon can last without food. The answer is a month. _ One. _ He held on for three. Three months for Kiko, too--she has burns _ everywhere_. They’ve both got broken bones and other signs of abuse. It was awful when we realised why.” 

Nicola felt tears in her eyes, her vision glassing over. So that was why he hadn’t talked. Why Kiko was crying. Why Hort had been so upset. She should have realised. Oh well. Yet another mess to fix.

* * *

Hort was collecting his thoughts. He had absolutely bungled things up with Nicola, Ravan wouldn’t speak to him, Kiko was sobbing and shivering, Dot was rocking Kiko in her arms, and his stomach plummeted. 

Ravan’s eyes were blank. They looked old, older than the world itself. He couldn’t see any emotion in them. _ This must be what everyone else sees_, he thought. Cold. Unfeeling. None of the raw emotion Hort was used to. Just black ice. 

He shivered. Ravan had every reason to block him off. Had he stayed away, this whole Snake thing might not have happened. 

* * *

Ravan let his body resume its defence mechanism. It hurt to block Hort (not physically, but mentally), but he didn’t want to show any more weakness. The girl, Nicola, wasn’t that bad. She had tried to interact, at least. Most Readers, upon recognising his cold, empty stare, would shiver and run away screaming. He sneered inwardly. A child running from him, screaming. Or better yet, the Snake running.

He glanced at Hort again. Hort met his eyes this time, and he couldn’t help it. He let his guard down.

* * *

Hort stared as emotions flooded Ravan’s gaze, one after another. Pain. Heartbreak. He inhaled quickly. Ravan’s sharp ears caught it. 

“Sorry,” he rasped. Hort let out a groan of relief. 

“No, it’s me that should be sorry.” 

“It’s not your fault, bhediya.” Ravan brushed his hand against Hort’s. 

Hort stood and walked over to sit next to the half-demon. He pulled Ravan close, wincing at how easy it was. Ravan was normally stronger than he was. The half-demon bit his lip before burying his head in Hort’s shoulder and broke down, mumbling in his native language and snatches of languages Hort understood. 

Hort held him close and let him cry, the strangeness of the situation not lost on him. Throughout their relationship, Ravan had always been the stronger one. He was unbreakable. Now here they were. 

* * *

Nicola looked over at Hort again. Now he was holding Ravan close, whispering to him and rubbing his back. She bit her lip but didn’t look away. After what seemed like years, Ravan lifted his head and Hort smiled at him. Then they were kissing, and she looked away again. 

Within the next two weeks, Kiko’s burns were fading and Ravan looked healthier. Hort had been right. He did look a lot better. 

Within a month, both had recovered. Kiko was even more adorable than in the books and Ravan? Ravan was gorgeous. Possibly on par with Sophie. Wait. Where did that come from? Although she had gotten closer to the blonde over this month, she couldn’t possibly like her. 

This had happened to everyone in the Tale of Sophie and Agatha. Everyone fell in love with her. But back to the original topic. As she had put it earlier, Ravan was absolutely stunning. Long, wavy dark hair, dark eyes, brown skin, and the amount of muscle that was the norm for a Demon his age. In other words, lithe and strong. 

She understood, now, why Hort looked at him the way he did. That’s not to say it didn’t hurt when Hort was kissing him, and it hurt when Ravan murmured endearments in his native language (which was annoyingly a nice sounding language), and it definitely hurt when Sophie made snide comments. 

Hort was happy again. Finally, Ravan had recovered, although he still panicked when he thought he had spoken too much. Things were awkward with Nicola, but they had decided to remain friends. 

Ravan is just glad he’s alive, that Kiko’s alive, that everyone is safe for the time being. 

Recovery isn’t easy. For Nicola, it’s recovering from losing Hort and finding love with Sophie. With Hort, it’s recovering from almost losing everyone he cares about. With Kiko and Ravan, it’s recovering from torture. They all have something to recover from. But they’ll work it out together. 

**Author's Note:**

> bhadiya - wolf in Hindi. 
> 
> I used google translate so it might not be 100% accurate. 
> 
> Thoughts? Leave a comment! They help me improve.
> 
> Also, I now have a Tumblr! I'm mickmacknicknack42, so come and visit! I promise you won't be disappointed.


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